Party politics is serious business. Elections, whether general or municipal, are even more serious business. If you decide as a young man to take sides in party politics, then you must not chalk it up as just a learning experience. Yes, there is a lot to learn, but there is a price you will pay. If your skin is not a thick one, you may be scarred for life.
Take the case of Maritza Quan. There was a municipal election held in Belize City, must have been 1996, when Steve Perera brought out a small party to participate. I?ve heard that Maritza was a family relative, through marriage or whatever, I?m not certain. So Maritza was probably not a serious politician. Steve Perera?s party got shelled, but Maritza was young and pretty and innocent and outspoken. She drew more votes than the other third party candidates. Maritza caught the attention of the media, and she caught the attention of the ruling UDP, who were desperate for a candidate to confront the PUP?s formidable Jorge Espat in Freetown. Maritza went downhill from there, from a family party to the UDP, to the PUP, then to political oblivion ?It seems now as if it took place in the twinkling of an eye.
When I participated in the 1971 Belize City Council elections on an NIP/UBAD coalition ticket, I saw it primarily as a learning experience. I was teaching at Wesley College, employed for the first time in two years. I was young and still wild. I did not believe the election experience would have the impact on me that it did. The PUP rubbed it in the night/morning of their victory at St. Mary?s Hall that December 1971, and I took it personal. Mistake.
The NIP were interested in UBAD in late 1971 because they needed an ally to replace the Dean Lindo-led PDM, which had broken away from the NIP again following the bad NIPDM defeat in the December 1969 general elections. UBAD was young and undisciplined, but we had a large following amongst young people in Belize City. We had something we could bring to the NIP table. It wasn?t that much, but anything was better than nothing, and the NIP leaders were desperate.
Philip Willoughby had something he could bring to the UDP table. He would have involved University of Belize students and the tertiary level students in the mainstream political process. But, for different reasons, he would have lost badly at the UDP mayoral convention. He would have been humiliated, and the PUP would have rubbed it in. He may then, like the baby X, have taken it personal.
Philip is not ready to be involved as a candidate in the party politics of Belize City. Perhaps some day he may be. I man was not ready to be involved as a candidate in the party politics at the age of 24. At the age of 58, I still am not ready for such. The reason is that I was and am not ready to sacrifice my personal integrity to the mandates of party politics. I mean no disrespect to the party politicians. If you are serious about acquiring political power, which is fundamentally the power to tax the people, then the only way you can do this in Belize is by submitting to the rules and discipline of one of the national political parties.
Willoughby?s first allegiance is to his student government and his student followers and supporters. He would not have put the good of the UDP above that of the good of the students. The UDP knew this. They were using him. And he was using them. This is politics. But the only one who would have lost was Philip. The two major parties are very, very powerful organizations.
I will criticize the cynicism of the political parties, but, in closing, I will say that there has been one major benefit which we Belizeans have derived from the party system in Belize. Belizean politicians are forced to work with one another across district, ethnic, class, religious and other lines. So the system of national political parties has done much to unify our disparate and diverse population over the years.
At the same time, it goes without saying, the fanatics within both parties have fought to divide Belizeans along red and blue lines for their individual party?s benefits. Whether the contribution to national unity by the major political parties is greater than their encouragement to disunity amongst Belizeans, would be a good topic for a well-organized, high level debate and discussion.
See ya.
P.S. I wrote this column on Tuesday morning. On Wednesday morning, I heard on WAVE Radio that Philip was one of the 23 UDP candidates for Belize City councilor. Such a candidacy is less high profile and less dangerous for Mr. Willoughby, so my opinion on a councilor candidacy would be different from the opinions I have expressed in the column above, which have to do strictly with his previous mayoral candidacy.